Janhvi Kapoor celebrated her 29th birthday with a visit to the Tirumala Venkateswara temple.
From religious gatherings to public events, 2025 witnessed a series of stampedes and crowd-related incidents that exposed the fragile line between mass participation and human tragedy, leaving behind loss, questions, and urgent lessons on crowd safety.
Meanwhile, the India captain was seen with his wife Devisha at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, where the couple offered prayers on the occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadashi.
Jennifer Lopez sang, Ranveer Singh danced, Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan, Shahid Kapoor, Kriti Sanon, Jacqueline Fernandez, Nora Fatehi performed at American businessman Rama Raju Mantena's daughter, Netra Elizabeth's Udaipur wedding with tech entrepreneur Vamsi Gadiraju.
"How many gods are there for Hindus? Three crores? There is Hanuman for those who are not married. There is another god for those who marry twice," Reddy said.
Claiming he was not responsible for the tragic stampede at Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple in Kasibugga that left nine devotees dead, the 94-year-old founder of the temple has said devotees rushed on their own during the gathering.
Anna Konidala, Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan's wife, worshipped at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati and participated in the Srivari Suprabhata Seva on Monday, April 14, morning.
Star batsman Sachin Tendulkar offered worship at the famous hill shrine of Lord Venkateswara in the wee hours in Tirupati.
He was accompanied by his daughter Isha and son Anant
The Tirumala temple, dedicated to Lord Venkateswara, an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, is among the most revered and visited pilgrimage sites in India, drawing millions of devotees every year.
Mallya donated the gold after offering worship and requested temple authorities to use it for gilding the doors at the sanctum sanctorum, Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams deputy executive officer (temple) Chinnamgari Ramana told PTI.
This is not the first time that a large number of people have died in stampedes at temples and other religious gatherings over the years in India.
The name of Lord Venkateswara, the presiding deity of the 2,000-year-old hill shrine at Tirumala, is all set to "Reach the Moon" onboard the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) of the US space agency NASA, scheduled for launch later this year, according to a devotee.
The annual cash offerings of the hundi in the just ended calendar year have even crossed Rs 1000 crore
Kanchi Shankaracharya Jayendra Saraswathi offered the crown costing Rs 1.5 crore.
Four devotees, including three women, died and several more were injured in a stampede at the Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple in Tirupati on Wednesday night. Hundreds of devotees had turned up for the 10-day Vaikunta Dwara Darshanam, which begins on January 10.
"For five minutes we thought all of us were dead. I have been coming to the temple for the past 25 years and it has never happened like this," D Venkata Lakshmi said, recounting the horrific Tirupati stampede that killed six persons and left over 40 injured.
'While my wife and others were trying to obtain Vaikunta Dwara Darshan tickets, a stampede occurred, resulting in her death'
Devotees would also not be allowed to travel on all routes, including the 10-km-long stairway leading to the shrine.
The Royal Challenger's Bengaluru parade in celebration of the team's maiden Indian Premiere League win in 18 years turned into tragedy as at least 11 fans died and several were injured in a stampede near the Chinnaswamy Stadium on Wednesday.
Ahead of YSRCP chief YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's planned visit to Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple at Tirumala Hills, the district police on Friday issued notice to several leaders and cadre of the party not to defy Section 30 of the Police Act which is in force.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), the custodian of Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, has barred 18 employees from participating in all religious activities for allegedly partaking in non-Hindu activities. The decision has been defended by the Andhra Pradesh government, citing the need to protect the religious sentiments of Hindu devotees. The move has sparked debate, with some supporting the TTD's stance and others criticizing it as discriminatory.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), custodian of Lord Venkateswara Swamy temple, has banned political and hate speeches at Tirumala. The decision comes in response to recent incidents where individuals, including political leaders, made political or inflammatory statements before the media near the temple premises after Darshan, disrupting the spiritual peace. The TTD warned of legal action against violators.
Currently, Kalyan is on a three-day visit to the temple as part of his 11-day penance to atone for the alleged sins committed by the previous YSRCP regime at Tirumala.
The wall collapsed on the Rs 300 ticket queue line near the shopping complex on the ghat road from Simhagiri Bus Stand at around 3 am. Heavy overnight rains and strong winds are suspected to have loosened the soil, causing the structure to fall, Anitha told reporters.
The new TTD chief said all those who work at Tirumala should be Hindus.
The allegations sparked a massive controversy across the country, hurting the sentiments of crores of Hindus.
Janhvi Kapoor visited the hilltop temple devoted to Lord Venkateswara in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, to offer prayers on her mother Sridevi's birth anniversary on August 13.
TDP spokesperson Anam Venkata Ramana Reddy in a press conference claimed that the adulteration has been confirmed by a Gujarat-based livestock laboratory, on the ghee samples provided by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams, which manages the famous Sri Venkateswara Swamy temple.
The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) Trust board on Friday expressed condolences over the recent stampede here and decided to offer free education for the deceased victims' children at its institutions.
A day after six persons died in the Tirupati stampede, the Andhra Pradesh government on Thursday announced a judicial inquiry into the incident that seems to have been the result of a policeman's innocuous act of opening the gate with the intention of aiding a sick woman.
Sources close to Reddy confirmed that his visit to the hill shrine has been cancelled, but did not immediately divulge the reason behind the decision that came just a couple of hours before he was supposed to depart to the temple town.
As the controversy continues to reverberate nationwide, various quarters are demanding steps to safeguard the sanctity of Hindu temples and their 'prasadam'.
Ram Charan celebrated his 39th birthday on March 27 by visiting the Tirupati temple with wife Upasana Kamineni and daughter Klin Kaara.
Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan has said that the laddu adulteration issue is just a tip of the iceberg and there are many more decisions taken during the previous regime that have to be investigated.
The Tirupati Laddu row intensified on Friday with the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD), which is managing the super-rich temple, backing Chief Minister N Chandra Babu Naidu's claim that the famous 'prasadam' had animal fat and Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party president Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy dubbing the accusations as 'atrocious'.
The controversy has sparked reactions across states. The famous Mankameshwar temple in Uttar Pradesh has now banned offerings of 'prasad' bought by devotees from outside and said they can offer homemade 'prasad' or fruits.
Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh celebrated their first wedding anniversary by offering prayers at the Venkateswara temple located at the hill town of Tirumala, near Tirupati.
Of the total expected revenue, the cash offerings made by millions of devotees in the sacred hundi (offering box) at the hill temple complex were expected to fetch about Rs 1,000 crore.
The temple is arguably the busiest and richest in the world, with probably only the Vatican matching it.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances